Carved Black Cylindrical Jar from Santa Clara Pueblo

When Stephen Trimble published his book Talking with the Clay—the Art of Pueblo Pottery in 1987, he put a grouping of Helen Shupla’s black and red pottery on the cover, another grouping of her pottery facing Chapter Three, and mentioned her in the text on page 47. This is an indication of his admiration for her work. In Betty LeFree’s book Santa Clara Pottery Today, published in 1975, she interviewed Helen Shupla and quoted her in regard to the proper mixing of clay. She chose Helen because of her production of fine pottery.

Helen is best known for her beautiful pottery melon jars but she was an active potter producing beautiful Santa Clara carved wares before the melon jars. This cylindrical black carved jar is a serious work of art. The design incorporates a very disguised Avanyu near the base of the jar. It takes careful viewing to pick it out. That is typical of her talent. It would have been easier to make the Avanyu in the traditional manner but she played with the design in a clever way.

The jar is signed with Helen’s name but not dated. It most likely dates to the 1970s, before she began producing her famous melon jars.